OK, so I am a fuddy duddy

So, I read in today's Telegraph that the French businessmen and politicians are abandoning the traditional "vous" form in favour of the less formal "tu". I notice that the DT's Leader bemoans this shift and indeed, voices a wish that English had a similar way of distinguishing between informal and formal second person addressees.

I would agree that we are in general becoming less formal to strangers. One of the manifestations of this I have noticed over the past year or so is people in call-centres calling me by my first name, without even asking me. Is it just me, or this really irritating? What's next? A telephone call to your bank is answered by "All right, love, Dave here. Oooh, didn't you spend a lot in Selfridges the other day?"

Outrageous.